


you're my best friend (and i love you so much)

by ScytheMarieAntoinette



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, but if we get real specific, it's childhood best friends to lovers, valgrace babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29903322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScytheMarieAntoinette/pseuds/ScytheMarieAntoinette
Summary: There are a lot of great moments in Jason’s life, but there are three he thinks are his most favorite.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Leo Valdez, Jason Grace/Leo Valdez
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	you're my best friend (and i love you so much)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mauvepens](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mauvepens/gifts).



> just some good ol' valgrace friends to lovers bc I'm trash for that trope
> 
> inspired by taylor swift's song "it's nice to have a friend". give it a listen if you haven't yet

* * *

_There are a lot of great moments in Jason’s life, but there are three he thinks are his most favorite_

**_1\. school_ **

Jason is six when he sees Leo for the first time. 

He’s sitting on the big wooden bench in front of his school, swinging his legs that hover a foot off the ground. He’s been sitting here, waiting for his mom’s car for a while now. And while he’s never been one to panic irrationally, he’s getting a little anxious. 

Most of the kids in his school are gone now; there’s only a handful of people left. So he’s surprised when a boy plops down on the bench beside him, lugging a red backpack covered in My Little Pony stickers and a really cool dragon one. 

The boy has a head of wild brown curls that bounce when he moves, the top parts held in a small sprig at the top of his head with an orange scrunchie. It’s really cute, and Jason instantly wishes he had hair long enough to tie in a scrunchie too. 

The boy is wearing an orange shirt, which makes his light brown skin look warm, like hot cocoa. Jason’s not cold, but now he wants a hot chocolate. 

The boy gives him a big toothy smile and all of Jason’s previous worries melt away, leaving only a faint buzz in his chest. He likes that smile a lot. And because the boy’s happiness is infectious, Jason smiles too. 

The boy waves violently, hand shaking back and forth so quickly it becomes a blur. Jason grabs it and lowers it down. Then he wonders if the boy had sugar for breakfast. Jason’s dad never lets him eat anything with sugar.

They exchange names. The boy’s name is Leo. Like Leo the Lion, a show Jason likes to watch on Saturdays. His smile becomes bigger. 

He learns that Leo’s mom is going to be picking him up late, so he’s got to wait for her. Jason’s ecstatic that he’s got a waiting buddy now. 

Leo asks what Jason’s favorite color is, and Jason hesitates for a moment. Then he shakes his head at himself. Leo is nice, he won’t make fun of him. Maybe. Hopefully. So he tells him that he likes the color purple, then waits for him to make a comment like _purple is a girl color_ or something like that. Other kids have said it to him before. But Leo only says cool and that his favorite color is orange, like fire. Jason learns that Leo likes fire and wants to make swords when he grows up. Jason doesn’t know what he wants to be, but he’ll be happy with anything as long as it’s not boring like his dad’s job. 

They talk more. Leo asks him a whole bunch of questions, like what’s his favorite movie, book, animal, food, drink, so many that Jason gets overwhelmed. He settles on answering that he likes a lot of things and doesn’t have a favorite anything. Leo’s face grows thoughtful, and he responds by saying that that was a smart thing to say and that Jason is very smart. Not to be outdone, Jason tells Leo that he is very cool. Leo giggles at that.

Jason likes talking with Leo. They never seem to run out of things to talk about, and if there is a pause in the conversation, Leo gets up and does cartwheels on the grass, which makes Jason laugh hysterically because Leo is terrible at doing cartwheels. 

It’s maybe fifteen minutes later when he spots his mom’s van pulling into the pick-up line. He’d completely forgotten that he’d been waiting for her. In fact, he’s a little sad to go, now that he’s made a friend. When he tells Leo the bad news, he gives Jason a big hug, grins, yells see you tomorrow right in his ear. As Jason gets in the car, he smiles happily because yes, he will see Leo tomorrow. 

His mom apologizes profusely for being so late, but Jason doesn’t care now. He tells her that he made a new friend named Leo who is really cool. He suggests she be late more often. 

Later that night, he dreams of bouncing curls and hot chocolate and crooked grins. 

**_2\. roof_ **

Jason is sixteen when things begin to change. 

Up on the roof of Leo’s foster parents’ house, they lay back and watch the sun steadily make its journey down the sky. It’s a lazy early summer evening, the air warm but not hot, the breeze cool but not cold. They relax in silence, and Jason can’t help but think about how the boy next to him is so different, yet still the same boy he befriended that day in first grade. 

Leo no longer wants to make swords when he grows up, though that would be cool. Now he wants to be an engineer. His favorite color is still orange, though, like fire. He still can’t do cartwheels. He still buzzes with energy like he’d had at least five cups of coffee in the morning. He still wears that orange scrunchie, though not as often anymore. He’d told Jason it was starting to fray and he didn’t want it to break, but Jason knows that Octavian has been making snide remarks about it. He wants to punch Octavian in the face. 

Jason’s also different, yet still the same boy he was that day in first grade. He wears glasses now and his hair is longer, though still not long enough to tie with a scrunchie. He knows that he wants to help people when he grows up. Like all the times he helped Leo get through his mother’s death. His favorite color is still purple though. He still laughs hysterically every time Leo tries and fails to do a cartwheel. He still dreams of hot chocolate and smiles bigger and warmer than any fire. 

The sky becomes a pretty light pink as the sun sinks farther down the sky. Puffy white clouds dot the horizon. Directly above him, the moon shines faintly. Everything looks and feels like something out of a fairytale.

He notices that Leo is more quiet than normal, so he turns his head and asks if he’s okay. Leo replies yes, he’s just a little stressed out because he’d gotten into another argument with his foster mother earlier that day and now he’s worried that she might finally snap and give him back to social services. Jason says no way, because Leo is a joy to be around and anyone who disagrees has probably never felt joy in their life. But seriously, she's not going to give you back. She loves you too much to ever do that. 

Leo smiles and Jason can see that his reassurance worked because he begins to relax. Despite the heat, Leo pulls Jason’s jacket tighter around him. He gazes back up at the sky, while Jason’s eyes linger on his lips. He's noticed that he's been doing that a lot lately. He shakes his head at himself and looks down at Leo’s hand. It rests against the roof, spindly fingers splayed against the tiles. Around his wrist, there’s a bracelet made up of orange beads. A single purple one stands out amongst the rest. A similar bracelet made up of purple beads and a single orange one circles Jason’s own wrist. 

After a moment, Leo asks him if he’s got a crush on anyone, and his heart starts to beat harder and faster in his chest. He gets the urge to say yes but instead tells him no, though he thinks Piper is cute. Leo smirks, but it’s teasing. He announces that for prom next year, he’ll ask Reyna, just to see what she’d say. Jason tells him to go for it, though deflates just the tiniest bit because Leo isn’t planning on asking _him._ He catches Leo’s gaze and they stare almost longingly into each other’s eyes. Then Leo looks away, cheeks tinged pink, and the spell is broken. 

They fall into an old rhythm, with Leo asking what his favorite _something_ is, and Jason replying with I don’t know or I don’t have a favorite _something._

Leo asks what's his favorite song, and Jason tells him I don’t have a favorite song. Leo rolls his eyes, whining about how he always answers the questions but Jason doesn’t, how Jason always takes but never gives. His complaining is promptly forgotten when Jason asks him what his favorite song is. He says that at the moment he’s listening to _Light Em Up_ by Fall Out Boy on repeat. Jason doesn’t know that song, so he asks Leo to sing some of it for him. He immediately regrets it when Leo belts the lyrics and screams the chorus into the air. Once he’s done, he grins like he’s proud of himself. Despite being deaf in one ear, Jason smiles too because Leo’s grins are always infectious. 

The sky grows darker, pink changing to a fiery orange. Leo points to where the sky looks like it’s practically flaming, and says that that right there is his favorite shade of orange. Jason commits it to memory. 

Leo asks what Jason’s favorite TV show is, to which he replies with I don’t know, then turns the question around. Without missing a beat, Leo answers _My Little Pony,_ saying that friendship is magic. Jason doesn’t know why, but he bursts out laughing and can’t stop, even when his lungs threaten to burst and Leo pretends to glare at him. He manages to choke out, “Rainbow Dash or Applejack?” and suddenly Leo’s laughing too, and neither of them can stop for several minutes. 

Once they get control of themselves, they watch the sun disappear, the sky darken, the stars come out. He feels Leo’s hand next to his side and grabs it before he can overthink it. Their bracelets clink together. Their fingers intertwine tightly. 

They fall asleep like this. Jason’s dreams are full of orange sunsets and bright laughter and rainbow ponies. 

**_3\. church_ **

Jason is twenty-six when he watches Leo walk down the aisle. 

He feels anxious and excited all at once, uncomfortable in his suit and sweaty under the church’s bright lights. He plays with the bracelet around his wrist, rolling the orange bead around in his fingers as he often does when he’s nervous. But then the doors are opening and his heart is pounding and his breath is catching as Leo steps onto the aisle. 

He’s wearing a black tuxedo, and Jason thinks Leo looks good in a suit, but then he sees the purple tie and he thinks that Leo looks amazing. He notices the bracelet peeking from under Leo’s sleeve and smiles. He blinks and catches sight of an orange scrunchie in his wild curls and smiles wider. 

Leo’s in front of him now, and Jason feels something akin to euphoria. He’d never have guessed this is where they would end up, that day in first grade. He’d never have guessed that his best friend would turn to boyfriend to fiance to husband. But it’s happening, happening right now and all Jason can do is grin until his cheeks hurt. 

They gaze longingly into each other’s eyes like they’re sixteen all over again. He’s content to just swim in Leo’s deep chocolate eyes forever, but then he’s being asked to share his vows. He opens his mouth to begin, but can’t seem to recall a single word he’d written down the night before. He clears his throat, stalling for time as he tries to remember what that paper had said, but nothing’s working and Jason isn’t one to panic irrationally but he’s getting a little anxious.

Leo raises his eyebrows, seeming to say _Well?_ in that encouraging way of his. Jason decides to speak from his heart instead. 

He tells Leo that since the first day he saw him, he knew they would be best friends. He tells him that Leo’s smiles remind him of a fireplace, bright and warm and comforting. That he used to laugh with him without knowing why, but now he knows why. He laughs because Leo makes him laugh. He laughs because Leo makes him happier than he could ever put into words. He tells him that he loves the way Leo never gave up those cartwheels and that he’s super proud that he can now do perfect ones each time. That he always loved that orange scrunchie. That his favorite song is whatever Leo is screeching, his favorite TV show is My Little Pony because friendship really is magic. That purple is his favorite color but orange is a close second. That he doesn’t know what his favorites are for a lot of other things, but he knows with absolute certainty that Leo is his favorite. Leo has been his favorite since they were six. That he loves the way he goes to sleep every night knowing he’ll see Leo tomorrow. 

He loves Leo. 

Leo’s a pretty crier, which is a good thing because he’s crying right now, and that makes Jason’s voice crack as he finishes speaking. 

Jason’s an ugly crier, which isn’t a good thing because he starts crying the moment Leo opens his mouth. 

Leo tells him that his favorite song is still Light Em Up because they both know it by heart and Jason always makes an effort to scream the lyrics just as loudly as him. That the summer nights when they’d watch the sunset and stargaze on the roof of his foster parents’ house were the best nights of his life. That his favorite color is orange but blue holds a special place in his heart because it’s the color of Jason’s eyes. That he loves asking what Jason’s favorite things are, loves it when Jason responds with I don’t have a favorite because that’s a very smart thing to say and that he thinks Jason is very smart. That Jason pays attention to him and doesn’t ignore him like other people do, doesn’t see him as a devil and shoves him away like he’s trash like Aunt Rosa did. That when Leo is with Jason, he feels seen and he feels like he matters and he feels loved. And that most of all, he loves the way Jason makes him giggle like a little boy and feel like there’s a roaring fire in his chest. 

He loves Jason. 

They’re exchanging rings and all Jason can focus on is the feel of Leo’s warm hand in his, their fingers laced together, as they should be. Their friends are crying and their parents are crying and _they_ are crying. But Jason’s tears are happy tears, and he doesn’t think he’s ever felt happier in his life. When he looks into Leo’s eyes, all he can see is them at six, at sixteen. And soon they’ll be thirty-six, fifty-six, seventy-six. Jason sees a future with Leo, and he knows it’s going to be glorious. 

When they step outside, Leo gives him a kiss, just the two of them, and Jason laughs. He laughs because Leo makes him laugh, because the sky is painted a fiery shade of orange, because Leo’s his husband and because from now on, he’ll get to see Leo tomorrow every day for the rest of his life. 

Later that night, they’re drinking hot chocolate and doing cartwheels. Leo’s smile is dazzling the entire time, so Jason’s smiles are equally as dazzling because Leo’s grins are always infectious. When Jason finally falls asleep, his dreams are filled with church bells ringing, sappy words being spoken, and a beautiful boy smiling in front of him. 

_It’s nice to have a friend._

**Author's Note:**

> writing my babies as six-year-olds was the highlight of my life, i think
> 
> for my friend mauvepens, who writes such amazing valgrace fics i could die from happiness. this is my gift to you, and i hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoy reading your stories ✨✨


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